Buoyed by party's victory inMaharashtra and
Haryana, Delhi BJP on
Sunday said it will push for fresh election in the national capital, banking on
the 'Modi wave' to wrest power, and may turn down any offer by Lt Governor
Najeeb Jung to take a shot at government formation.
General Secretary
of Delhi BJP and South Delhi MP Ramesh Bidhuri said the result of the assembly
polls in Maharashtra
and Haryana have
"proved" that support for BJP was not waning and the party will come
out with clear mandate if Delhi goes to polls again.
"We are
ready for fresh election as soon as possible. We will push for early
polls. TheModi wave continues
to sweep the country and BJP will come to power with thumping majority if
elections are held in Delhi again," Bidhuri told PTI.
Asserting that
party has strengthened its support base significantly since the assembly polls
in December last year, Bidhuri said majority of party workers in the city are
fully prepared to face the election again.
Asked what will
be BJP's position if Lt Governor Najeeb Jung invites it to form government, he
said the party will not take the reins of power by adopting any unfair means.
"We will
turn down any offer for government formation and will push for early polls. If
the party can get a clear majority in neighbouring Haryana then why should we
not go for polls here. BJP will not form a government in Delhi by
resorting to any unfair means," he said.
The Lt Governor
last month had sent a report to President Pranab Mukherjee seeking permission
to invite the BJP to form a government in Delhi.
In the report,
Jung gave a detailed analysis of the political situation and underlined the
need to have an elected government in the city which is under President's rule
since February 17 following resignation of the Aam Aadmi Party Government which
was in power for 49 days.
The Centre is
likely to respond to the Lt Governor's letter after Diwali. The BJP has
been maintaining that it will take a decision on government formation in Delhi
after getting an invite from the Lt Governor.
Sources in BJP
said a number of central leaders as well as Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)
were not in favour of forming a government by "managing the numbers"
and indicated to the state leadership to get ready for elections.
In his report to
Mukherjee, the Lt Governor said though no party has staked claim to form
government in Delhi, BJP could be invited to take the reins as it is the single
largest party in the assembly. Jung observed that all options for putting
in place an elected government should be explored before contemplating holding
of fresh polls.
Currently BJP,
along with ally Akali Dal's lone MLA, has 29 legislators and will require the
support of five more MLAs to prove majority in the assembly.
The party had
emerged the single largest party after the assembly polls in December last year
with 32 seats including ally Akali Dal's one MLA in the 70-member House.
BJP fell four
seats short of a simple majority and had refused to form government saying it
did not have the numbers and will not resort to any "unfair means" to
take the reins. AAP with 28 MLAs had later formed the government with
support of eight Congress MLAs.
BJP's number came
down to 28 in the House in May after three of its legislators Harsh Vardhan,
Ramesh Bidhuri and Pervesh Verma were elected to Lok Sabha. With the
resignation of three MLAs, the strength of the assembly also went down to
67.
The government
led by Arvind Kejriwal had resigned on 14 February after the
party's pet project, the Janlokpal Bill, could not be passed due to opposition
from BJP and Congress. President's Rule was imposed in Delhi on February
17.
The Lt Governor
had not favoured dissolution of the Delhi assembly as recommended by the
council of ministers headed by Kejriwal and kept the assembly in suspended
animation.
The Congress and
Aam Aadmi Party have been demanding immediate dissolution of the assembly to
pave way for holding of fresh election.
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